Undertale
by TheOriginalTale
Summary: My first story; A novelization of Undertale.
1. Read this first!

So this is kind of an idea that I thought up with and just decided to go in and see how it goes. The game has had a huge impact on me, as I can securely say that it's the only game that has made me cry out of genuine sadness. (I had not watched a single walkthrough, watched one trailer, or even looked at Wikipedia beforehand, so I was unprepared.) I've been seriously thinking there should be a novel or even a film of Undertale ever since I finished my first playthrough. (I've had the game for a few weeks now, and I just finished my pacifist run yesterday at the time of publish.)

Since I've wanted to try my hand at writing, I figured "Why the heck not?" And so this idea was created.

Here I will be publishing three big stories: 1 for a neutral run, one for pacifist, and one for genocide. I'll be writing these stories section at a time, and I will be replaying the game as I write. The stories and events you will see in these stories will be based off of choices I make as I move along. For neutral I will try to keep it as neutral as possible. Killing some characters, while sparing others. This will pretty much be Undertale, but in novel format.

I'm hoping to have the first chapter of the neutral story published sometime in the following week. Please give me your thoughts and constructive criticism is welcome

 _ **WARNING!**_

 _ **This story outliers pretty much the entire story of Undertale. Hence, there WILL be spoilers! If you have not played the game, I strongly recommend playing it first before reading this. Or don't, it's your choice. Also please be aware that some chapters of this novel do contain sensitive themes. I will give warnings at the start of chapters that contain some of these themes.**_

I'm real excited to have this project underway!


	2. Prologue

**_Just so you guys all know, I am well aware that Frisk is supposed to be a character of ambiguous gender, aka Frisk can be either gender. Since I'm a male, I will be referring to Frisk as a "he" in this story. If you want to read it as a she, by all means go ahead._**

 ** _THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE GAME! IF YOU DO NOT WANT ME TO SPOIL THE GAME, DO NOT READ THIS STORY_**

Prologue: Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: Humans and monsters. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.

 ** _Many years later…_**

Frisk trudged up the slopes of Mount Ebott. He soon approached what he was looking for. A cavern at the summit of the mountain. He entered inside to where the roof opened up, revealing a deep dark pit. Frisk had been dared by some of his friends to climb the mountain and peer into what was seemingly an endless abyss. He leaned over and looked in.

"There. Now that that's done with…" Frisk spoke to himself. He was about to turn around when he heard something. A stone clattering at the bottom of the pit. He remembered the old legends that inside the pit lay a whole kingdom full of monsters that had been sealed long, long ago. With the unprovoked noise, he peered in again.

"It's just a myth…right?" He thought to himself as he leaned over further. Suddenly, his foot caught a root, and just like that he was falling. Screaming, down, down, down, into the darkness.

 ** _I'm aware that the Prologue is very short. That's just because the game's intro didn't give me much to work with. Don't worry, chapters are of a reasonable length._**


	3. Love

Blackness. The feel of blood rushing through veins. These were the last things Frisk felt as he plummeted down into the dark depths of the pit. Then, flowers. The soft feel of flowers. Frisk blinked his eyes open and looked around the gloomy cavern of which he had tripped into. As he started to sit he yelped in pain. The pain originated in his right foot. He clutched it, trying to hold back tears that stung his eyes. As he looked closer, he sighed. Just twisted. Somehow, apart from his twisted foot, he was unscathed. He slowly stood, and looked around. There were…pillars? Frisk wandered deeper into the cavern. He soon approached what looked like a door. Or…what was left of it. He wandered in, as children often do when they're curious. Inside, was a flower. Just a friendly little flower. Something was different though. This flower appeared to have a face. Curious, he leaned in to see if he was imagining things. Suddenly, the flower spoke.

"Howdy!" He jumped back and almost tripped again.

"I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!"

"U-Uhhh…Hi…?" Frisk answered in response.

"Hmm…" Flowey looked curiously at Frisk, and Frisk at Flowey. "You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused. Somewhat ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do."

Frisk looked even more puzzled than before. I mean, the flower seemed nice…so he decided to approach again. He crouched in front, and returned Flowey's smile. Then, Flowey spoke again, and he launched into his little 'lesson'.

"Now, you know what your soul is right?"

"I—"

"Your soul is the very culmination of your being." Flowey interrupted, not even bothering to wait for a response. "Down here, your soul will be weak. But, if you gain LV, it can, and will grow strong!"

"Wait, what does LV mean?" Frisk jumped in before Flowey could continue.

"Why, love, of course!" Flowey responded in a matter-of-factly sort of way. "Everybody wants love. Including you, don't you?"

"I guess you're right there." Frisk responded, beginning to understand what Flowey was saying.

"Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" Flowey stated cheerfully. "Down here, love is shared through things we call little white 'friendliness pellets.'" As he spoke, 5 small pellets, a similar colour as Flowey, appeared above him. It was almost as if they were whisked into being, how though Frisk was unaware. Yet he had heard the legends of what was in this place. Could it really be…?

"Move around to catch them!" Flowey said. The pellets began to move towards Frisk. Frisk smiled and reached out, grabbing one of them.

"AAH!" Frisk screamed and yanked his hand back. He looked to his hand. There was a small burn where he had grabbed the pellet. Nothing serious, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. He looked back to Flowey and was about to ask him what happened, but he stopped, his anger immediately turning to one of unease, and then fear. For Flowey's face was no longer so friendly. He was still smiling. Yet the features of the once innocent flower were distorted. His grin was devilishly wide, his eyes holding a tiny red glow at their center.

"You…idiot." Flowey began. "In this world…it's kill…or BE killed."

Frisk began to stumble backwards. He wasn't sure why he was trying to move away from a thing he could easily step on, but something about him seemed…ominous. Supernatural in a sense. Suddenly, Frisk found himself surrounded by the pellets Flowey had advertised were harmless.

"Die." Was the one word uttered from the flower. It started laughing maniacally as the pellets closed in towards Frisk. Frisk closed his eyes shut tight and curled into a ball, trying to shy away as much as he could. Suddenly, the laughter stopped, and a scream resounded. Not from Frisk, but from Flowey. He looked up. The flower was gone, as were the threatening pellets. In his place stood what appeared to be a white furred anthropomorphic goat. She was on one knee and had reached one hand out to Frisk.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…"

Frisk shied away, still shaken from his encounter.

"Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins." The motherly tone in the goat's voice reassured him, and he found himself taking the goat's hand. She helped him to stand. Toriel spoke again after he was back on his feet.

"I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time."

"T-Thanks…" Frisk spoke timidly, beginning to like Toriel much more than Flowey.

"Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." Frisk followed Toriel deeper into the dark tunnel. Then light from torches at one end showed stairs, leading up to a door. The door seemed to lead into the catacombs that Toriel spoke of. Together, the two walked through the door. Before entering, Frisk looked back. He then walked back through, but he couldn't help but think that he had seen a tiny red glint in the corners of the cavern.


	4. Home

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one." Toriel smiled at Frisk as they proceeded into the ruins.

"Allow me to educate you in the operation of the ruins." Frisk watched as Toriel walke over to an arrangement of 6 stones. She stepped on four of the six, before going to a wall and pulling a lever. A door slid open behind her. She turned back to Frisk.

"The ruins are full of puzzles. One must solve a puzzle to move from room to room." Toriel led Frisk into the adjoining room. Here she spoke again.

"Before we can move on, you will need to trigger several switches." Toriel stood aside, a clear indication that Frisk was supposed to do the puzzle. He could see at one end of the room that a wall of spikes blocked the path forward. He took note of three switches of the wall. Two of them had arrows drawn, pointing right towards the levers. He walked over and pushed the two levers the arrows indicated to, and the spikes fell away.

"Splendid! I am proud of you, little one." Toriel spoke cheerily. Frisk said nothing, not wanting to mention that it was literally laid out what he had to do. As they moved on, Frisk began to notice eyes watching. Suddenly something leapt out at him. What seemed to be a frog of a strange sort landed in front of him. Toriel was quick to shoe it away. As they walked, Frisk listened as Toriel explained how monsters would appear frequently, and how to deal with such things.

The two continued for what seemed like hours for Frisk. In reality it had just been 20 minutes. After having given Frisk the tour, Toriel led him over to her home. Frisk smiled. The house was nice, tidy, clearly Toriel was a good caretaker.

"I have a surprise for you!" Toriel led him down a hallway off to the right.

"This is it. A room for your own. I hope you like it! Make yourself at home." Toriel went off to tend to what smelled like a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. Frisk sighed as he saw the bed. In his room. It had been a long day. He climbed in and laid back, falling fast asleep.

The sound of a door closing roused Frisk. He heard footsteps proceeding away. As he leaned over to get out of bed he saw a slice of the pie that had been baking earlier. He decided to leave it until morning. However before he got back in bed he paused. Frisk spotted a toy knife on the ground. It seemed harmless enough. He shrugged and stuffed it in his pocket. When he returned to his friends, he could show them what he had collected.


	5. Kill or Be Killed

WARNING! This chapters contains scenes that may be sensitive to some readers.

Frisk yawned as he woke up the following morning. He climbed down out of bed. As he was going to the living room, he paused at the flight of stairs. He decided to go downstairs and take a look. However, when he reached the bottom, he was greeted with a long gloomy tunnel. He began to proceed. Before he got far, he jumped as he heard Toriel right behind him.

"It's not safe down here. I think you should play upstairs instead." Toriel promptly took Frisk by the hand and half lead, half pulled him up the stairs. Frisk frowned as Toriel left. There was something down there, and clearly Toriel may not be as innocent as the he had thought. He decided to ask her a question he badly wanted an answer to. He approached Toriel in the living room. She was sitting in an armchair, reading a book.

"Toriel…when can I go home?" Her response send a chill down Frisk's spine.

"What? This…this IS your home now! Um, would you like to hear about this book I'm reading? It's called 72 uses for snails. How about it?"

"Thanks, but I would really rather know how to go back home please…my REAL home." Frisk spoke, a bit more impatiently. Toriel however, didn't respond to the question.

"How about an exciting snail fact?"

"No! Stop changing the subject and tell me how to go home!" Frisk almost shouted. Toriel sighed. She suddenly looked…tired.

"…I have to do something. Stay here." She then discarded the book and left towards the stairs. Frisk hurriedly followed her down. When he caught up to her, she spoke. But she did not sound as friendly as before.

"You wish to know how to return "home", do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again."

"But wh—" Frisk began, but was cut off.

"Be a good child, and go upstairs." Toriel proceeded onwards. Frisk chased after her.

"Wait! What about me?! I need to-" Once more he was cut off.

"Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it, again, and again. They come…they leave…they die. You naïve child…if you leave the ruins…they…Asgore…will kill you. I am only protecting you, don't you understand? Go to your room." She once more continued on. Her words sank into Frisk like knives. Others had been killed? His sense of fear was restored, but he didn't want to stay back down here forever. He chased on to try again. She turned and barked the order at him

"Do NOT try to stop me. This will be your final warning!" By now they were at the doors. What he assumed to be the entrance to the ruins.

"You want to leave so badly little one?" Toriel grunted. "You're just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself. Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive." Toriel faced him with a look of anger. Frisk backed up slightly.

"T-Toriel? What are you—" He was cut off by a magic fireball that Toriel summoned with her hand. He had to dive towards the wall to avoid the fireball, which smashed into the ground where he stood. Frisk stared at Toriel. "WAIT! WE CAN—" Toriel struck again, with the same attack. Without thinking, Frisk drew the toy knife from his pocket. Hes hadn't even realized he was clutching it in his hand. Toriel launched another attack. Frisk's fight or flight responses kicked in, and he drove the sharpened toy knife up, directly into the heart of Toriel. The fireball disappeared. Frisk put one hand to his mouth as he stepped back, horrified at what he had done. Toriel dropped to one knee.s

"U-Uggh…you…are stronger than I thought…listen to me, small one…if you go beyond this door…" Her voice began to fade. Frisk was struggling to hold back tears as he put a hand comfortingly on Toriel's shoulder. She continued, whispering into his ear.

"K-Keep…walking as…as far as you can…eventually…you will reach the exit…A…Asgore…do not…do not let…Asgore…take…your…soul…his plan…CANNOT…be allowed…to…succeed…" Frisk nodded. He was unable to utter any words. Blood dripped from the wound, staining the ground. Toriel looked up into his eyes.

"B…Be…good…won't…you? My…child…" Toriel slumped over and seemed to disintegrate into dust, even the blood vanishing. Frisk shuddered. The knife, now clean, lay at his feet. He picked it up, his hands trembling as he looked around the barren room. It was quiet. He got up on shaky feet and pushed through the doors. It was dark as he made his way through the tunnel. Suddenly, he saw something move. A flower. A flower that was directly in front of him.

Flowey giggled. "I hope you like your choice." Frisk held the knife in front of him. His lip was quivering and his hands were shaky. Flowey stared back. It was almost as if he knew that Frisk was too scared to move.

"After all, it's not as if you can go back and change fate…in this world…it's kill…or be killed. That old hag thought she could break the rules. She tried so hard to save you…humans. But when it came down to it…" The evil smile once more spread across Flowey's face.

"She couldn't even save herself." A single tear slid from Frisk's face as Flowey sank into the ground, the evil laugh still echoing off the walls.


	6. A Bony Friend

Run. Don't look back, don't look forward, just run. This was what Frisk's brain told him to do as he sprinted out of the ruins into the forest beyond. He didn't even realize he was in the forest until he finally stopped, and noticed that the door to the ruins was nowhere in sight. After stopping to catch his breath he proceeded on, but slowly.

As he continued on Frisk began to feel like he was being watched. Suddenly he heard a stick snap behind him. Instantly Frisk whipped around.

"Who's there?" He called out. He got nothing in response. He pressed on, then heard the sound of feet in snow behind him. He didn't stop, he didn't look back. He moved on. Then as he approached a bridge that seemed to almost have a gate over it, he froze. Whoever, whatever was watching him, had caught up, and was walking slowly up behind him.

"Human…don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand…" The creature behind him spoke. Frisk managed to keep himself composed. He was determined to not shake and cry his way through the entire underground. He slowly turned around, closing his eyes and grabbed the boney hand of the creature following him. Immediately there was the sound of a fart. Frisk opened his eyes to find a skeleton dressed in a blue coat and blank pants in front of him. A whoopie cussion lay in one of the skeleton's hands.

"Heh, the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. It's always funny. Anyways, you're a human, right?"

"Uh…yeah." Frisk answered. The skeleton seemed to be laid back enough.

"I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton."

"Hi. Frisk. Frisk the…human I guess." Frisk responded.

"I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But, y'know, I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus, he's a human-hunting fanatic. Hey, actually I think that's him over there. I have an idea. Go through this gate thingy. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

Shrugging Frisk followed Sans' directions. Suddenly Sans pushed Frisk behind a couple of rocks. Peering over, Frisk watched as a second skeleton approached, this one taller. "Must be his brother." Frisk thought to himself.

"Sup bro?" Sans greeted his brother nonchalantly.

"You know what "sup," brother! It's been eight days and you still haven't recalibrated your puzzles! You just hang around outside your station! What if a human comes through here?! I need to be ready! I will be the one! I MUST be the one!"

"Geez." Frisk again spoke to himself in his mind." This guy is really set on capturing a human." Yet there was something about him that made him seem quite harmless.

"I will capture a human. Then I, the great Papyrus, will get all the things I utterly deserve! Respect…recognition…I will finally be able to join the Royal Guard! People will ask, to be my, friend. I will bathe in a shower of kisses every morning. But YOU Sans, you get lazier and lazier every day!"

"Hey, relax." Sans replied. "I've got a ton of work done today. I've gotten a skele-ton of work done today in fact." Frisk put one hand over his mouth to keep the laugh at the bad pun from bursting out.

"Sans!" Papyrus shouted.

"Come on, you're smiling." Sans poked at his brother.

"I am…and I hate it." Papyrus sighed. "Why does someone as great as me…have to do so much just to get some recognition…wow…sound like you're really working yourself to the bone." Again Frisk had to make a desperate attempt to stop the laugh at the pun that was so bad it was good.

Papyrus sighed once more. "I will go work on my puzzles. As for your work, put a little more backbone into it!" Papyrus left, cackling at his own joke. Frisk slowly came from around the boulders.

"You better get moving before he comes back." Without waiting for a response, Sans wandered off into the thick trees. Frisk sighed and moved on. Sans seemed casual, funny, and Papyrus. Despite trying to seem dangerous, he actually seemed quite harmless. Frisk moved on, the looming trees of the forest, not looking quite so threatening anymore.


	7. The Skeletons' Challenges

After nearly half an hour of walking Frisk rounded a bend, and found himself staring straight at both Sans and Papyrus, who were talking together. Frisk approached, knowing that Sans was friendly to him, while Papyrus just seemed to be harmless. Papyrus was first to notice. Immediately the two turned their backs to Frisk to converse briefly. Then Papyrus turned back.

"Human! You shall not pass this area! I, the great Papyrus, will stop you! I will then capture you! You will be delivered to the capital! Then…THEN…" Papyrus's voice became quiet, but Frisk could just overhear. "I'm not sure what's next…" Then he continued at his normal rattily voice. "In any case! Continue…only if you dare!" He turned away and ran off, cackling to himself. Frisk was struggling to hold in the bouts of laughter coming from him. Sans stayed behind.

"Well, that went well. Don't sweat it, kid. I'll keep an eyesocket out for ya." Then Sans too followed after his brother.

Further down the path, the trail opened into a clearing. Here Frisk caught up once more to the two sets of bones. He could hear Papyrus shouting angrily at Sans.

"YOU'RE SO LAZY! You were napping all night!" Sans, who probably would have rolled his eyes, simply stated back

"I think that's called sleeping." Before Papyrus could think of a comeback, he spotted Frisk out of the corner of his eye.  
"Oh-ho! The human arrives!" Instantly Papyrus's mood seemed to brighten.

"In order to stop you, my brother and I have created some puzzles! I think you will find this first one, quite shocking! For you see, this is the invisible electricity maze!" Frisk then noticed that a bunch of snow had been cleared away to form a large square between him and Papyrus. "When you touch the walls of this maze, this orb will administer a hearty zap!" Papyrus continued his explanation as he pulled out a blue orb. "Ok, you can go ahead now." Papyrus spoke, not realizing he still held the orb in his hand. Frisk walked two steps into the square, and Papyrus promptly shrieked as the orb shocked the skeleton.

"SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Papyrus now screamed as he stamped his foot furiously. "I think…the human has to hold the orb." Sans responded. Frisk was thoroughly enjoying this. Papyrus walked over through the square and handed Frisk the orb, before returning to the other side. However, Frisk noticed that as Papyrus walked through the maze, he had left footprints in the snow perfectly laying out where he needed to go. So when Frisk took the orb and began, he completed the maze in mere seconds.

"Incredible! You solved that puzzle so easily! Too easily…" Papyrus grumbled. "HOWEVER! The next puzzle will NOT be so easy! It is designed by my brother, Sans. You will surely be confounded!" With this, the pare of skeletons moved off. Sans glanced and shrugged over his shoulder at Frisk. Frisk, wasting no time, quickly followed. They soon came to yet another square. This one had a piece of paper in the middle of it.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus declared. "I hope you're ready for…" He paused. "Sans…where's the puzzle?"

"It's right there, on the ground." Sans replied. "Trust me, there's no way he can get past this one." Frisk walked forward to the paper. When he picked it up it was just a crossword puzzle. Throwing it aside he walked the rest of the way across until he stood toe-to-toe with Papyrus.

"Sans, that didn't do anything!" Papyrus exclaimed, to which Sans replied,

"Whoops, I knew I should have used today's crossword instead."

"I don't believe this." Papyrus grumbled once more. He didn't even bother to cackle this time as he once more set out to the next puzzle. They soon reached another section of wood, though this one seemed to have lighting as the ground.

"Human! You're gonna love this puzzle. It was made by the great Dr. Alphys! See these tiles? Once I throw this switch. They will begin to change colour! Each colour has a different function. Red tiles are impassible. You can't walk on them. Yellow tiles are electric tiles, which will shock you if you walk on them. Green tiles are alarm tiles! If you step on these, you will have to fight a monster. Pink tiles are…well they're pink. And they don't do anything. Did you get that?!"

"Well, not really—"

"Great!" Papyrus cut off Frisk. "Then let's begin." *Papyrus hit a switch on a computer looking machine. Immediately the tiles lit up. But then they changed. Then they changed again, and again, the changes getting faster and faster. Suddenly smoke poured from the machine and the puzzle stopped. All the tiles were pink. When Papyrus saw this, he simply stomped away. Sans chuckled to himself and followed to attempt to calm his brother down. Frisk turned down a different path though.

He soon came to a little village by the name of Snowdin. After a little bit of exploration, he noticed an inn at one end of the village. Sighing he walked inside. During his travels in the forest, he had picked up the occasional gold coin laying on the ground. Frisk used what he had to pay for a room for the night. He would continue travelling come morning.


	8. The Skeletons' Dual

The following morning was indeed a chilly one. Frisk woke up early, and had decided not to get breakfast before heading out. He decided to head west, in hopes that he was travelling in the right direction, and so he bid farewell to the pleasant little village of Snowdin. Shortly after he departed, a thick snowfall set in. Still though, Frisk pressed on, determined to reach the exit Toriel spoke of. Suddenly, he paused. There was movement. He squinted to see through the snow, and the voice confirmed his suspicions.

"Human." Papyrus began. "Allow me to tell you of some complex feelings…the admiration for one's puzzle-solving skills…the desire to have a smart person, think you are cool…these feelings…" Frisk wondered where Papyrus was going. It almost sounded though as though Papyrus was trying to be friendly.

"These feelings…they must be what you're feeling right now! I can hardly imagine what it must be like to feel that way." Now Frisk was confused. "After all, I am very great. I don't wonder what having many friends is like. I pity you…lonely human."

"Hey, I have friends—" Once more Frisk was cut off by the skeleton.

"Worry not! You shall be lonely no longer! I, the great Papyrus, shall be your…no…no! This is all wrong! I can't be your friend! You are a human! I must capture you! Then I can fulfill my lifelong dream! To become, the newest member of the royal guard!"

Suddenly Frisk saw something flying towards him, before a bone slammed into the snow beside him. Frisk immediately dropped down and searched for what seemed to be his new adversary. It would seem that Papyrus was not as harmless as he had first thought. He could hear Papyrus through the snow, the rattle of his bones as Papyrus spoke again.

"I can almost feel my popularity…" Frisk reached for the toy knife, which he had sharpened during his walk to make it more of a suitable weapon. However…when he put his hand on it, memories came rushing back. Memories of his fight with Toriel. He could hear his mind screaming at him. "No! There HAS to be another way…"

He listened once more for Papyrus, and then heard him

"Papyrus! Head of the royal guard! Papyrus, unparalleled sphagetatore! Undyne will be so proud of me…" Another bone struck the ground close to Frisk. Frisk tried hard to think of something to say. He didn't want to have to take another life, but it was beginning to look like Papyrus would give him no choice. One thing about Papyrus's last remark struck him though. 'Undyne'. It wasn't the first time he had heard that name. Who, or what, was he, she, or it?

"I'll have lots of admirers…but…"

"But what?!" Frisk called out into the snow, trying to get a little closer.

"But how will I know if people sincerely like me?" Another bone flew through the air, though Frisk noticed the accuracy was slightly off. "On the other hand, people like you are somewhat rare…I don't think they'll let you go. After you're captured and sent away. Oh who cares, just give yourself up already!"

Frisk didn't respond, still trying to get closer. He could now hear that Papyrus was huffing, almost as if he was out of breath.

"Well…it's clear…you can't…defeat me! Yeah, I can see you shaking in your boots!" Frisk stood up fully, his hand finally leaving his knife. "Therefore I, the great Papyrus, elect to grant you pity! I will now spare you. Now is your chance to accept my mercy."

Frisk sighed before responding. "Alright Papyrus. I accept your mercy." The snowfall began to clear, and then Frisk noticed Papyrus looked crestfallen.

"I…I can't even stop someone as weak as you…Undyne's going to be disappointed in me. I'll never join the royal guard and…my friend quantity will remain stagnate." Frisk looked to his feet. He knew what it felt like to have no friends at points in his life. So when he looked up, he responded.

"I mean…if you want to…I can be your friend."

"R…Really?! You want to be friends, with me?!" Papyrus seemed taken aback, and now humorously looked overjoyed.

"Well then…I guess…I guess I can make an allowance for you."

Frisk could hear Papyrus murmer under his breath. "Wow! Who knew that all you had to do to make friends is give people awful puzzles and fight them…" Then he raised his voice. "You taught me a lot, human. I hereby give you clearance to pass through. I'll even give you directions to the surface. Continue forward until you reach the end of the cavern. Then, when you reach the capital, cross the barrier. That's the magical seal trapping us all underground here. Anything can enter it, nothing can exit. Except…someone with a powerful soul…someone like you. That's why the king wants to acquire a human. He wants to break the barrier with soul power. Then us monsters can return to the surface!"

Frisk nodded, though inside he felt his heart skip a beat. Monsters? On the surface? What would that mean? How would people react?

"Oh! I almost forgot. To pass through the barrier, you'll have to pass through the king's castle. The king of all monsters, he's…well…a big fuzzy pushover really." Papyrus shrugged. "Everybody loves that guy. I'm sure that if you say 'Excuse me, Mr. Dreemurr…can I please go home?' He'll guide you right to the barrier himself! Anyway, I'll see ya later, hopefully on the surface!" With that Papyrus left.

Frisk felt his heart sink more, and more. Passing through the king's castle would be a difficult challenge. And if this king is the person Toriel was referring to…something told Frisk that the king may not be as friendly as Papyrus spoke. Then there was of course this Undyne as well…he would have to be careful from here on out.


	9. The Cliff

Later that day Frisk finally reached the end of the wood. It instantly seemed darker as he proceeded along a path. To his left was a small cliff face. With no snow here, the natural lighting of various crystals embedded in the walls of the underground made the lighting much dimmer, though still plenty bright enough to see. As he proceeded along the pathway, he continued into a small field of taller grass. Suddenly he heard voices. Papyrus's voice in fact.

"H…Hi, Undyne! I'm here with my daily report…" Frisk peered out of the tall grass. On top of the cliff face he could see the skeleton speaking to another figure. Frisk could tell from reflections that the figure was in armour. At least he knew that this Undyne was a who.

"Uhh…regarding that human I called you about earlier…" Frisk instantly felt his blood run cold. In his panicked thoughts, he missed the figure's question, and only heard Papyrus's response.

"Y-Yes! Of course I fought them!" Papyrus turned away, and from the light of the forest not far behind, Frisk could see the uneasiness of Papyrus's face. "I fought them valiantly…but I didn't manager to capture them." He heard a furious voice from inside the armour.

"Did you even TRY?"

"W-Well…of course I tried! Very hard in fact, but in the end…I failed." Undyne responded gruffly.

"I'll just have to take the human soul myself." Frisk watched as Papyrus moved closer.

"But Undyne, you don't have to destroy them! You see, you see…" Papyrus lost his word and slowly backed away. From the bushes, Frisk could barely hear Undyne speaking. The armour made it more difficult to understand, he only heard Papyrus's response.

"…I understand. I will help in any way I can." Immediately after, Papyrus left. It felt eerily quiet. Undyne wasn't leaving. Frisk did notice that Undyne's back was turned to him. He slowly began to creep through the grass, thinking he would make it without being seen. Clearly Undyne was not one he wanted to bump into. However, just when he thought he was clear, there was the crack of a twig that sounded as loud as thunder, from directly beneath one of his feet. Immediately Undyne whipped around and approached the edge. Frisk remained motionless, staring up at the armoured figure. He watched as she seemed to materialize a spear out of thin air and raise it above her head. Frisk closed his eyes tight, not daring to meet the watching gaze. When he opened them several seconds later, Undyne was gone. He looked around, troubled, before standing up and proceeding from the grass.

His heart was still pounding, so he nearly took out his knife and threw it when a small voice piped up behind him.

"Yo, did you see the way she was staring at you…? That…was AWESOME! I'm SOOO jealous!" Frisk turned around and stared at the creature speaking. It was a small monster child, but there was something familiar about him. Then it hit him, this was one of the children he had seen in Snowdin.

"What'd you do to get her attention?" The child laughed. "Come on! Let's go watch her beat up some bad guys!" The child ran off ahead. Frisk lagged behind, staring up at the cliff face, before hurrying on, a sense of dread filling him. 

Undyne stared on from the shadows at the human. Thoughts flashed through Undyne's mind. Could this be the one? Will we finally be…free? She turned and slowly stalked into the shadows.


	10. The Wishing Room

Frisk continued onward into the rocky area. It was indeed beautiful, with the gleaming gems and lighting that seemed to come from both everywhere, and nowhere. It was dim, but a nice dim. He once more jumped when he felt the buzz of his phone in his pocket. He pulled it out, puzzled. He had completely forgotten about it in the fall, and he was shocked it wasn't completely destroyed. He slowly opened it and pushed the answer button.

"Hello, this is Papyrus!" Papyrus spoke from the end.

"Oh…Papyrus!" Frisk responded… "Uhh…how'd you get my number?" He was about to ask why they had phones, but then shrugged. He had seen weirder things.

"Oh, it was easy! I just dialed every number sequentially until I got yours." Frisk struggled to hold back a slight giggle. He was of course wary still. After all, the person he had been speaking with was clearly not as welcoming to humans.

"So uhh…what are you wearing?" Papyrus asked.

"Uhh Papyrus…why…do you need to know?"

"Oh it's for a friend. She thought she saw you wearing a gross bandage. You're not…wearing a gross bondage are you?"

"No…no I'm not…" Papyrus responded immediately after. "Oh, good! That's all I needed to know. Have a nice day!" Papyrus abruptly hung up. Frisk shivered when he considered who the 'she' Papyrus was referring to was. He had a bad feeling he already knew who it was. He left the open and entered into a small cavern. The sign above read "The wishing room."

Inside there were blue flowers littered around. He had heard of these during one of the locals during his time in Snowdin. They were echo flowers, and they would echo the last thing they heard…over…and over. As he passed by one, he heard somebody speak. It was a female voice, obviously echoed from the flower.

"A long time ago, monsters would whisper their wishes to the stars in the sky. If you hoped with all your heart, your wish would come true…now, all we have are these sparkling stones on the ceiling…" the voice faded away. Further down, he picked up a different female voice. This one said something different.

"Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong! The king will prove that." Frisk stared up at the ceiling littered with glowing stones as he continued onward. As he progressed, he heard the same voices talking from two other flowers.

"C'mon sis! Make a wish!" "I wish my sister and I will see the real stars someday…" Frisk turned down one of the corridors, to a dead end. He was about to turn around when he noticed a tiny crack. He pushed his hand on the crack and a door slid open. He proceeded through. Inside was a pond with a wooden bridge leading over it. Along the bridge there were signs. Frisk read them aloud to himself as he went on.

"The War of Humans and Monsters. Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed that they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the soul of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a single human soul. But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their soul. It's power allows it to persist outside the human body, even after death. If a monster defeats a human, they can take its soul. A monster with a human soul…would be a horrible beast, with unfathomable power." On the signs was a painting of a very disturbing goat-like creature. It almost looked similar to Toriel. But…a war? One that humans created when they had nothing to fear? Intrigued, Frisk looked for more signs, yet they stopped there. Frisk decided to move on. Nearby was another wood, though of less snow. Right on the coast.

As he moved on, suddenly a spear slammed into the bridge directly in front of him. He looked to the trees and saw the armored figure staring out, another spear already in Undyne's hand. Knowing he couldn't swim for safety, Frisk ran. He darted along the bridge, the spear whizzing past his ear. He heard the sound of spears striking the wood of the bridge, one almost making him trip and fall. Finally, he reached another patch of tall grass, where he dove in and tried to calm his breathing as Undyne approached. She moved into the grass, and was standing not more than three steps away from Frisk. She suddenly reached into the grass and pulled out…the same monster child that Frisk had spoken to earlier. Finished for now, Undyne gave up, leaving the grass. Frisk ran out the other side, the monster child in hot pursuit.

"Yo…did you see that?! Undyne just…TOUCHED ME! I am NEVER washing my face again. Man, are you unlucky. If you were standing just a LITTLE bit to the left…don't worry! I'm sure we'll see her again." The kid ran off. Frisk, was really not feeling like running into Undyne again, but he knew that the kid was right.


	11. The Flowers Have Ears

The grass almost squishy beneath his feet. Frisk had left the dirt pathways, deciding to use smaller side routes. As he crossed over another small bridge over a pond, he heard a passing conversation through one of the many echoing flowers. It seemed to be between a boyfriend and a girlfriend.

"So? Don't you have any wishes to make?" The boyfriend asked. "Hmm…just one…but it's kind of stupid."

Frisk was once more startled by the sudden ringing of her phone. He slowly put it to his ear.

"Hello, this is Papyrus again! Hey, you remember when I asked you about clothes? Well you see my friend, her opinion of you is very…murdery."

"I kind of figured that out already." Frisk responded with a shrug.

"Well, worry not dear human! Papyrus would never betray you. You said you weren't wearing a gross bandage, so I told her you were."

"Oh…uh…gee, thanks." After this the conversation ended. Frisk took a breath before moving on.

Moments later, Frisk passed another flower.

"Don't say that! Come on, I promise I won't laugh." This was the boyfriend speaking again. Before he continued on, he spotted another piece of the writings on the wall. This one read. "The power to take their souls, this is what the humans feared."

In the next room, Frisk found more. "This power has no counter. Indeed, a human cannot take a monster's soul. When a monster dies, its soul disappears. An incredible power would be needed to take the soul of a living monster. There is but one exception. The soul of a monster that is very, very, determined. Though rare, these monster's souls can persist after death, if only for a few moments. A human would be able to absorb the soul, yet this has never happened…and now…it never will."

Frisk felt his heartrate growing higher. It was clear now that this Underground he was stuck in held much more secrets then he was aware of. In the next room there was an odd statue. He paused and looked at it. There was a light over the statue, and there was rain falling on it. Something about it looked familiar…it looked similar to Toriel. Frisk continued on. In the following hallway, lots of water fell from the ceiling, as there were massive waterfalls above them. He spotted the child down a small path. The kid walked over. "If you're walking this way, I guess I'll go with you, haha…"

There was silence for several long minutes. As they passed another flower, the kid stopped and looked at it.

"So…one time. We had a school project where we had to take care of a flower. The king, we had to call him Mr. Dreemurr, volunteered to donate his own flowers. He ended up coming in and teaching the class about responsibility and stuff. That got me thinking…how cool would it be if Undyne came to school?! She could beat up ALL the teachers the way she beats up bad guys!" Suddenly, there was a huge break in the caverns. It was dark, the only light coming from the stones in the ceiling acting as stars. Frisk looked off. In the distance, he could see a castle. The king's castle.

Shivering, Frisk still continued on, determined to get home. When they got to a ledge, the kid offered for Frisk to climb on his shoulders to get up.

"Yo, go on ahead. Don't worry about me, I always find a way to get through!" Frisk watched as the kid went off, before proceeding. Back in the caves, he found more writings. "The humans, afraid of our power, declared war on us. They attacked suddenly, and without mercy. It could hardly be called a war. United, the humans were too powerful, and us monsters, too weak. Not a single soul was taken, and countless monsters turned to dust."

Frisk felt sick. The humans had launched a war on the monsters, when the monsters had done nothing to harm them. He continued to walk…but slower. Soon he approached a bridge and began to cross. Suddenly, he heard a sound. He looked down to find a second bridge beneath him on a lower level. On that bridge he found an armored figure of Undyne staring back up at him. He leapt out of the way, landing on his side just as a spear drove up through the bridge where he stood just moments prior. Frisk spotted Undyne already readying another spear. He started running, almost tripping several times from the small gaps in the wood.

Occasionally, two spears would stab through the bridge. As the chase continued, Frisk noticed the attacks growing more and more rapid. It was getting harder and harder to avoid them as he searched for the exit. He darted down the right when the bridge came to a fork. Shortly after…nothing. The attacks stopped. Frisk thought that perhaps he had finally escaped Undyne. But when he turned around, there she was, standing practically right in front of him. Three spears suddenly dropped, severing the bridge. Frisk found himself unable to scream from the sheer terror as he dropped, down…down…down…


	12. Friends or Enemies?

"It sounds like it came from over here…Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you…are you okay? Here…get up…Chara, huh? That's a nice name…my name is…"

Frisk groaned as he struggled to sit, blinking his eyes open. The remains of the bridge he had been standing on were close by. He himself had landed in a small bed of yellow flowers growing in the shallow water, the flower cover breaking his fall. He looked around. The voices in his head…they were voices he didn't recognize. He struggled to stand, staring back up. He could no longer see where he had fallen from. He turned the other way and began wading through the shallow waters. When he stepped from the water he looked around. He was in what seemed to be a mini ravine, with pools here or there. Though intimidating it also seemed so…tranquill.

After taking a moment to breathe, he continued through the ravine. There were more writings on the walls, continuing the story of the war from before.

"Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magic spell. Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful soul can leave. There is only one way to reverse the spell. If a huge power, equivalent to seven human souls, attacks the barrier, it will be destroyed. But this cursed place has no entrances, or exits. There is no way a human could come here. We will remain trapped down here, forever."

Frisk looked towards the direction of Snowdin, and the ruins. The monsters must not have realized that the roof above the ruins had opened into a pit. It was after all, how he had arrived down here to begin with. However, he remembered Toriel saying that nobody had fallen in a long time…did this mean that he wasn't the first human? The next room was lit only with glowing crystals. There was a lantern at the start of the room. Frisk took the lantern so he could see through the extremely dim lighting. There was more writing.

"Without candles or magic to guide them home, the monsters used crystals to navigate." He continued to bring the lantern into the next room, which had no lighting at all. Suddenly, he heard a voice speak.

"Behind you." Frisk froze, his blood running cold as he heard the sound of metal clanking. He turned to face Undyne, who was now right in front of him. Frisk realized, he was cornered. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

"Seven." Undyne spoke.

"H-Huh?"

"Seven human souls. With the power of the souls, our king…Asgore Dreemurr…will become a God." If Frisk's blood could freeze over, it would have. He recognized the name Asgore. It was the person whom Toriel had said should not make his plan succeed.

"With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity…and give them back the suffering and pain we have endured. Do you understand human? This is your only chance at redemption. Give me your soul, or I'll tear it from your body."

Frisk shivered and slowly drew the knife he had put his hand around. Frisk watched as a spear once more appeared in Undyne's hand. She too moved to a fighting stance, and began to charge. Her charge was cut short when the monster kid that Frisk had met several times, suddenly jumped in between them.

"Undyne! I'll help you fight!" The kid looked around, and spotted Frisk. "Yo! You did it! Undyne is RIGHT IN FRONT of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!" Frisk stared, shocked that the kid could be so terribly dense. Suddenly, the kid spoke again. "…Wait. Who's she fighting?" Undyne approached and grabbed the kid by the ear and dragged him away. "H-Hey! You're not gonna tell my parents about this are you?" Frisk let out a shuddering breath of relief and pocketed the knife once more.

Spotting a door off to his right, Frisk proceeded on, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and Undyne. In the next room, were dozens of the echoing flowers, and little yellow fireflies. Frisk once more picked up the conversation from before, between the two lovers.

"Hmm…if I say my wish…you promise you won't laugh at me?"

"Of course I won't laugh!"

"Someday, I'd like to climb this mountain we're all buried under. Standing under the sky, looking at te world all around, that's my wish." Frisk could hear soft male laughter.

"Hey, you said you wouldn't laugh at it!" The laughter stopped.

"Sorry, it's just funny…that's my wish too…" There was one last piece of ancient writing on the walls.

"However…there is a prophecy. The angel…the one who has seen the surface…will return. And the underground will go empty."

As Frisk began to cross over yet another bridge overlooking a deep chasm, he heard the child's voice again behind him. "Yo!" He turned to face him. There was something different though. The child…had lost the playful look he had contained earlier. Instead he almost looked…sad.

"I know I'm not supposed to be here, but…I want to ask you something…" Frisk waited as the kid tried to put words together. "Man, I've never had to ask anyone this before…yo…you're human…right?"

Frisk sighed before responding. "Yeah…yeah I am."

"Man! I knew it! Well…I know now anyway…Undyne told me to stay away from you. So, I guess that makes us enemies or something. But…I kind of stink at that. Could you…say something mean so I can hate you?" The question almost felt like a brick slamming into Frisks's heart. He struggled to even find the words to respond.

"Ok…uh…I hate your guts."

"Dude…THAT'S your definition of mean? My sister says that to me ALL THE TIME!" Frisk chuckled at the kids' almost carefree response. Frisk smiled warmly at the kid. The sad look returned.

"I'm…I'm gonna go home now." Frisk turned and began to walk away. Suddenly he heard scuffing behind him and then the kid called out panicked.

W-W-Wait! Help! I tripped!" Frisk turned to find the kid barely hanging on to the side of the bridge. Frisk was about to race over, when he saw Undyne on the other side of the bridge. HE found himself frozen once more with indecision. The next cry from the kid helped him make up his mind.

"What are you standing around for? Help me!" Frisk stared Undyne in the eye and raced over, grabbing the kid by the arm and pulling him up and onto the bridge. He could hear Undyne approaching behind him, and Frisk began to reach for the knife, ready to fend for his life. Suddenly, he heard the kid run between him and Undyne. When the kid spoke, it was directed at Undyne, and not Frisk.

"Yo…if y-you wanna hurt my friend…you're gonna have to get through me, first." Frisk was shocked, and from Undyne's hesitation, she was too. After all, they were supposed to be mortal enemies, and the kid was defending Frisk. Frisk looked past the kid, getting up onto one knee, looking into Undyne's eyes. It's almost as if a silent message passed between them. "Not here, not now." Undyne took two steps back, before turning around and making her departure. The kid looked back to Frisk.

"Yo, you really saved my skin. Guess we're gonna have to be friends after all. I should REALLY go home…I bet my parents are worried sick about me."

Frisk nodded. "Yeah. Go home to your family." The kid smiled, and also left, leaving Frisk alone on the bridge.


	13. Determination

It had been only minuets since Frisk departed the caverns with the waterfalls and the echoing flowers. He was now close to what he could only guess to be Hotland, the location where the kings castle was located. It looked like a mechanical city. All that stood between him Hotland, was one last tunnel carving through a tiny mountain range. However, as he approached the tunnel, he spotted the gleam of armor, and looked up to see Undyne staring down at him.

"Seven. Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god…six. That's how many we have collected so far. Understand? Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed. Undyne removed the helmet. Frisk was greeted with a blue, almost piranha-like face.

"YOU! YOU are standing in the way of EVERYONE'S hopes and dreams! Alphy's history books made me think humans were compassionate…but YOU?! You're just a remorseless criminal!"

Frisk shouted back, now defiant. "What do you mean?! I saved a kids LIFE!"

"Yes…but meanwhile you have wandered through the caverns, attacking ANYONE in your path!" Frisk looked to his feet. He did remember the several small more feral creatures he had encountered. Some he fled from. Some he spared. But other more…persistent creatures, he was forced to kill. He had convinced himself it was self-defense.

"Oh come on, they didn't give me a CHOICE!" Frisk shouted up.

"Self-defense? Please. You didn't kill them because you had to, you did it because it was easy for you. Your time is UP villain! Every hope, every DREAM you've turned to dust…I'll send RIGHT back to you through my spear!" Undyne jumped from the top and landed in front of Frisk.

"However, as captain of the royal guard…I do believe in honor, and a fair fight." Undyne materialized a shield in one hand and tossed it to Frisk. Frisk scrambled to pick it up and face the captain of the guard, who yelled. "EN GARDE!"

Immediately Undyne charged Frisk, spear in one hand. At the last second, Frisk threw his shield up, managing to deflect the spear away from him. He took out his knife in his other hand.

"For years, I've dreamed of this…" He heard Undyne sneer. "And now, the sun is JUST within our reach!" Frisk advanced and lashed out with the knife. Undyne blocked the attack with the spear, and Frisk managed to just barely put the shield up to block a second blow. Frisk attacked again, but the knife only glanced off her armor.

"You're tougher than I thought human…but even if you COULD beat me…NO human has left the underground alive. Asgore always makes sure of that." Frisk, still unsteady from his last blow, was caught off guard when Undyne drilled the blunt end of a spear against his side, knocking him to one knee. HE just managed to put the shield up, the spear slamming into it. The blow sent Frisk reeling, and he somersaulted backwards onto his feet. Frisk knew that he couldn't give himself up to Undyne or Asgore, however it seemed like Undyne was prepared to fight to the death. There was only one way this could end. He searched the armor for any weak spots. He dove forward as a spear flew over his head, managing to get closer…there! A small gap, large enough for his knife to fit through between the chest-plates.

"DIE ALREADY YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Undyne screamed furiously as she kept lunging again, and again. Frisk grunted and then yelped in pain as one of his blocks was off, and the spear nicked his arm. He stepped back and glanced at the fresh wound, bleeding slightly. It wasn't serious. When Frisk attacked, he focused his strike on the gap in the armor. However, he was just off. His knife struck the plating instead, and he just barely had time to get the shield back up for a flurry of blows that sent him reeling. When he managed to strike again, the knife struck home, hitting the plates enough that it would be noticeable. The blow set Undyne off balance as she tried to counted. Frisk managed to deflect the spear into the ground, then drove the knife through the gap in the plates, cutting deep along Undyne's chest. Undyne dropped to her knees a moment later.

"Nggaahhh…you were…stronger…than I anticipated…so then…this is where it ends…" Frisk stepped back, blood dripping from his knife as more began to drip to the ground beneath Undyne. Suddenly, Undyne groaned.

"No…NO! I WON'T die! EVERYONE is counting on me to protect them! In the name of everybody's hopes and dreams…I WILL KILL YOU!" Frisk found a tear welling up in his eye, knowing what he had to do. As it slid down, Frisk lashed out again, the knife cutting across Undyne's cheek as she stood up.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!" Undyne lashed out again, and Frisk struggled to block the attacks, the tears making it hard for him to see. He could see her body beginning to waver. Her movements were slower. Frisk slashed at the gap in the armor again, sending fresh blood onto the knife. Undyne doubled over and stumbled back, but she managed to stand. Her movements were slower still, and Frisk only had to sidestep to avoid her next attack. She groaned as her wounds began to catch up.

"…I won't…give up…" Frisk, wanting this to finally end, gave one final strike across her heart. Undyne once more stumbled, and collapsed.

"…Alphys…this is what I was afraid of…this is why I never told you…" Undyne began to slowly…melt…before turning to dust. Frisk dropped to his knees, the blood-stained knife and shield clattering to the ground with him. His breath was shaky as he tried to compose himself, staring at his hands. He whipped them off on the stones, then left the shield behind. He picked up the knife, terrified at what he thought he was becoming. He too cleaned the blade, before pocketing it, and moving through the mountain range, into Hotland.


	14. It's Gonna be a Great Show!

turned and Saw Frisk and gasped.

"Oh. My god….u-uhh…h-h-hiya!" Frisk looked at the monster curiously. This stutter was not one of nervousness, more from social anxiety.

"I'm Dr. Alphys, Asgore's royal scientist!" So this was Alphys. "BUT…I'm not one of the guys trying to kill you. Actually, since you stepped out of the ruins, I've, um…been observing your journey through the underground…your fights, friendships, everything!"

"Ok…" Frisk thought to himself. "Bit creepy…but ok…"

"I was originally going to stop you, but watching someone, after a wihle you raelly want to root for them. So…now I want to help you! I know the shortest route to Asgore's castle through Hotland. No problem!"

"But…?" Frisk asked, able to tell that there was definitely a 'but' coming in.

"You see there's a little problem…a long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton. Originally, I made him to be an entertainment robot. You know, like a robotic TV star or something like that. Anyways, recently I decided to make him more practical. You know, just some small adjustments. Like…uh…ant-human…combat properties…Of course when I saw you coming, I immediately decided I have to remove those features!" Alphys continued to ramble, while Frisk worked on making sense of it all.

"Unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake in doing so. And, um…now he's an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood?"

Frisk felt his jaw just about hit the ground. "A WHAT?!"

"BUT! Uh…hopefully we won't run into him!" Alphys spoke quickly. Suddenly there was a thump from behind one of the walls. Suddenly a loud smash, and out rolled a robot on one wheel. Frisk jumped back, as did Alphys.

"WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO TODAYS QUIZ SHOW!" The robot shouted loudly.

"OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW!" The robot continued to speak loudly. Frisk glanced awkwardly at Alphys who had her head in one hand.

"EVERUONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT!" Mettaton indicated to Frisk. "NEVER PLYAED BEFORE, GORGEOUS?"

"Well—"

"NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE! There's only one rule. Answer correctly…OR YOU DIE!"

Frisk tried not to let his jaw hit the ground again as the robot zeroed in on Frisk.

"LET'S START EASY! WHAT IS THE PRIZE FOR ANSWERING CORRECTLY?!" A list of choices appeared in front of Frisk. He was about to move for mercy, but then he spotted Alphys making a D motion with his hand. Instead, Frisk turned and tapped on an icon that said "D: MORE QUESTIONS!"

"CORRECT! NEXT QUESTION! WHAT IS THE KINGS FULL NAME?!"

"Oh that's easy. Asgore Dreemurr!" Frisk replied confidently, to which Mettaton applauded him. The questions kept on rolling in. However, at one question, Alphys jumped up and started rambling something about anime for the answer. He suddenly cut himself off when he saw Mettaton staring at him

"Alphys, Alphys, Alphys…you aren't helping our contestant are you? Ooooh…you should have told me! You'll be sure to know the answer to this next question. WHO DOES ALPHYS HAVE A CRUSH ON?"

"Uhhhh….I don't know…" Frisk responded, looking at Alphys awkwardly.

"…Correct." Mettaton responded. "You see, Alphys has a crush on the unknowable. You see, Alphys believes there is someone out there. Someone watching her. Someone she thinks is "cute" and "interesting. Hello theoretical person, Alphys likes you. Too bad you are not real. Well, with Dr. Alphys helping you, the show has no dramatic tension! We can't go on like this! But…next up, more drama! More romance! MORE BLOODSHED!" And with that, Mettaton wheeled away. Frisk turned slowly to Alphys.

"Well that was…"

"…interesting…" Alphys finished Frisks' sentence.

"Here, let me give you my phone number. If you need help, I can easily contact you."

"Hmm? Oh sure." Frisk allowed Alphys to program her number into his phone. After this, he set out, and walked out the exit, back into the thick of Hotland, determined as ever to reach the kings castle, and hopefully, the exit.


	15. The Second Show

_**Authors note: Hey everyone! Sorry for not uploading any chapters in the past couple days. There are two reasons for this. One is that I've been held up with school and work, the other being that I've had to struggle a lot with Hotland and its content, trying to figure what would stay in and what would stay out. I did have to take out several aspects of Hotland in the coming chapters, but I do hope that you'll understand my reasoning. If I put in everything, it would sound like I was rambling on and on about Hotland, not to mention it would take me much longer. That was all, just wanting to explain myself. Enjoy!**_

Frisk struggled against the heat as she slowly made her way along the pathways of Hotland. He was half wishing he had asked Alphys for a bottle of water before he left, but at it probably would have evaporated from the heat.

Eventually, Frisk rounded a bend to find himself face-to-face with an orange laser. His phone began ringing. Frisk quickly put the phone to his ear.

"Alphys?"

"Y-Yes, H-Hi." Alphys began. "So, the blue lasers…they don't hurt you if you're moving. But Orange ones, y-you have to be moving, and they…um…they….j-just move through those ones!" Abruptly, Alphys ended the call.

With a shrug, Frisk proceeded onward. HE paused in front of the orange laser, before breathing and walking quickly through it. He then saw ahead of him, what seemed to be a sequence of lasers. Some orange, some blue. He quickly brushed through the first one, then paused when he was just in front of the first blue laser. He remained still until the laser had moved over him, before running through the next two orange lasers, onto the other side. Taking a breath, Frisk proceeded into the next large room.

Ahead of him was a panel, with an arrow rotating around. To the left, right, and forward, were more walkways, with gaps in the midde. Suddenly he once more felt his phone buzzing.

"A-A-Alphys here! The door in front of you will remain locked until you s-solve the puzzles on the right and left." Frisk looked up from the gaps to see the door ahead, two different mechanical locks.

"Got it, I'll go to the right first." Frisk replied before Alphys hung up. Frisk approached the panel with the arrow rotating around. He glanced to the right. When the arrow was facing the right, he stepped onto the panel. He didn't know what to expect, but was caught off guard when the panel shoved him up and forward, pushing him towards the right walkway. Frisk managed to land on his feet, though stumbled slightly. Recovering quickly, he moved on to the puzzle on the right.

When he entered the puzzle room he could see what looked like an arrow on his end, several squares in the middle, with an arrow at the end. A little note said "Shoot the opposing ships! Move the boxes to complete the mission."

"Hmm…alright then…" Frisk mumbled as he figured out how to move what boxes, and what boxes could be moved. The first puzzle was easy, and he achieved it in only 2 minutes, firing at the other 'ship' and destroying it. He smiled triumphantly, this was one of the fun puzzles.

He ran back to the pad that would send him back to the middle. This time, he was prepared. He watched for when the arrow in the middle changed so it was facing towards the left walkway. HE then stepped on the jump pad, which sent him flying to the middle, directly onto the center pad. The center pad immediately bounced him over to the left. This time though, Frisk was prepared. He hit the ground in a crouch, and rolled onto his feet.

The next puzzle, was a tad more challenging. After nearly 15 minutes (and several frustrating attempts), Frisk finally saw the opposite ship shattered. When he returned, he found that both locks had been deactivated. He proceeded through the door.

The door led him into a dark room, the door slamming shut behind him. Frisk felt a marble floor beneath him. Suddenly the lights turned on, and Frisk found himself in what appeared to be a kitchen, though more like a television set of a kitchen. There, on the other side of the counter Frisk was by, stood Mettaton.

"WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW!" Mettaton shouted. "PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING A CAKE! MY LOVELY ASSISTANT HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIANTS." When Mettaton mentioned an assistant, Frisk assumed he was talking about him. Frisk shrugged and walked to the opposite counter, collecting the obviously late out eggs, milk, and sugar, returning them to the cooking counter.

"Perfect! We've got all the ingrediants we need to bake the cake." Mettaton stated. "Milk, sugar, eggs…oh my! What a magnificent moment! How could I forget?! We're missing the most important ingredient!" Suddenly, Mettaton pulled out a chainsaw. From where he got it from, Frisk couldn't even begin to wonder.

"A HUMAN SOUL!" The chainsaw started up and Frisk stepped back from Mettaton. Just as Mettaton started to close in, his built in phone began ringing. Mettaton froze in his tracks.

"Hello…? I'm kind of in the middle of something here."

Frisk could hear Alphys on the other end. "W-Wait a second! Couldn't you use…couldn't you…Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe?"

"A substitution? You mean like use a non-human ingredient?...why?"

"Because…people might be…vegan?"

"…Vegan?" Mettaton responded, his tone sounded sarcastic. Just as Alphys responded, Mettaton hung up.

"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA ALPHYS! ACTUALLY I HAPPEN TO HAVE THE OPTION RIGHT HERE! MTT-BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOUR-SUBSTITUTE!" Frisk moved over to the can that Mettaton indicated. Before he could grab it though, the platform it was being held on shot straight up, nearly to the roof of Hotland.

"By the way, our show runs on a strict schedule." Mettaton stated matter-of-factly. "If you don't get that can in one minute, we'll just have to go back to the original plan." Frisk, in a panic ignored Alphys's call and jumped onto the tall platform and began climbing. He could hear Mettaton counting down slowly below. He grunted as he struggled to work his way up, the heat not making things easy.

With less than 10 seconds to spare, Frisk somehow managed to get his hands on the can. He more or less slithered down the large platform, the can in his hands. Mettaton greeted him below.

"My my. Seems you've bested me…well, I'll get you the next time." Mettaton started to wheel away. Frisk too was about to continue, but froze when Mettaton called him again.

"Oh yes! About the substitution, have you never seen a cooking show? I already baked the cake ahead of time. So forget about it." With that, he was gone. As frisk walked out of the room, he could see a large structure off in the distance. It looked ominous.

"S-See that building in the distance?" Alphys asked after calling Frisk.

"That's the core, the source of all the power in the Underground. It converts geothermal energy into magical electricity by…well anyways that's where we're going. In the core is an elevator directly to Asgore's castle. From there, you can go home." Frisk didn't respond, slowly putting the phone in his pocket as he hung up. He shivered. He still had to face the king. Would Asgore let him go home? Or…Frisk decided not to think about it, proceeding to an elevator up ahead, the sense of dread ever increasing.


	16. Showtime

The elevator opened up, allowing Frisk once more into the sweltering heat. There weren't a lot of puzzles on this floor, just the structure growing every closer. Suddenly, Frisk heard Alphys talking in his pocket. Apparently, he hadn't hung up as he thought he had on the last call. He put the phone to his ear.

"I noticed you've been kind of quiet…" Frisk responded, trying to sound like he didn't have anything wrong.

"There's nothing to talk about really."

Alphys though, was on to him. "…Are you w-worried about meeting Asgore…?" Frisk sighed. "A bit…"

"Hey, don't be. Th-The king is a really nice guy…I'm sure you can talk to him, and with your human soul you can pass through the barrier. S-So no worrying okay? J-Just forget about it. And do smile a little." Frisk heard the call click shut on the opposite end.

40 MINUTES LATER…

Frisk had long lost sight of the ominous sight of The Core. He had been finding his way around pathways trying to get closer for a while, with some guidance from Alphys. He finally walked through a smaller door than the others, just big enough for him to fit through. He frowned. It almost looked like it was a stage for some sort of play? 'Probably another one of Mettaton's traps…' Frisk thought to himself. Sure enough…

"Oh? That human…" Frisk looked up, and there was Mettaton in a fake window, wearing a dress? "Could it be…? My one true love?" The robot inquired.

Suddenly, Frisk could hear music playing over speakers, and then of all things, Mettaton began to sing.

"Oh my love…please run away…monster king…forbids your stay…humans must, live far apart…even if, it breaks my heart. They'll put you in the dungeon, it'll suck, and then you'll die a lot. Really sad, you're gonna die, cry cry cry, so sad it's happening." The music stopped. "So sad. So sad that you are going to the dungeon." Suddenly, a trapdoor opened beneath Frisk, sending him falling to a floor just below. Luckily, it wasn't very deep and Frisk landed on his feet.

"Oh no! Whatever shall I do?" He could hear Mettaton trying to act as though he were in despair.

"My love has been cast away into the dungeon! A dungeon with a puzzle so dastardly, my paramour will surely perish! Oh heavens have mercy! The coloured tile maze! Each coloured tile has its own sadistic function!"

Frisk groaned. HE was lucky that Papyrus's version of the maze had broken down, and he knew he would not get so lucky this time. "Oh, and you better hurry!" Mettaton chuckled. "Because if you're not through in 30 seconds, YOU'LL BE INCINERATED BY THESE JETS OF FIRE!" Frisk looked over his shoulder and saw the jets of flame. After taking a gulp, Frisk took a running start to the maze. He struggled to remember the rules as he approached.

'Red is no…pink is safe…yellow and blue don't mix…orange and blue don't mix…purple and blue are fine…avoid green at all costs.' That was the message he told himself as he began the journey. But he hadn't made it even close to the end before 30 seconds was up.

"Ooooh, I'm so sorry! Looks like you're out of time! Two of the walls of flame jets began to close in on either side of it. Frisk tried to keep away, but they were rapidly closing the space. He closed his eyes as the heat from the flames was almost unbearable. Then suddenly there was a clicking sound, and the heat was gone. Frisk opened his eyes to find the flames gone, and Mettaton speaking.

"Oh dear! Foiled again by the great Doctor Alphys!"

"That's right!" Alphys chimed in over an intercom in the area.

"Come on Mettaton, give up already! You'll never be able to defeat us…" Mettaton, saying nothing, fled. Frisk frowned. This was a bit…unusual. Then his phone rang. He answered.

"Alphys?"

"Hey, y-you did a really great job out there…" Frisk smiled at the compliment.

"I mean, it is thanks to you, you did help out a lot."

"What? Oh no, I mean…you were the one doing everything cool!...Hey…can I tell you something?" Frisk noticed the sudden fall of enthusiasm in Alphys's voice.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Well…before I met you…I didn't like myself very much. For a long t-time, I f-felt like a total screw-up. L-Like I couldn't do a-anything w-without…without letting everyone down." Frisk could hear Alphys struggling to get the words out. Though, Frisk did understand what it was like to feel like you couldn't do anything right.

"B-But…! Guiding you has made me feel much better about myself. So…thanks for letting me help you."

"Hey, it was my pleasure Alphys." Frisk spoke warmly, trying to cheer the scientist up.

"Anyway, we're almost to the Core. It's just past MTT resort. Let's finish this." Alphys sounded determined as Frisk hung up. Before pressing on, he took one last look around the room. Something about Mettaton's interactions just didn't seem…hoenst…it was extremely convenient how Alphys came to the rescue at the last minute…Frisk shook it off. Mettaton was still out there, and next time Frisk saw him, he would end things with Mettaton, once, and for all.


	17. Promise

It wasn't long before Frisk saw the doors of MTT resort. He was about to walk on in when he spotted a figure out the corner of his eyes. After doing a double take, he recognized Sans leaning against the building.

"Sans? What are you doing here?" Frisk asked the skeleton curiously.

"I heard you're going to the Core. Mind quickly having a chat first?" Frisk shrugged before responding.

"I mean…yeah I have time I guess." Sans led Frisk down a small alley to the left and once more leaned against the wall.  
"So…your journey's almost over, huh? You must really wanna go home." Frisk shrugged.

"I mean…I guess so, yeah…"

"Hey, I know the feeling buddo. Though…maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you." Frisk frowned slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, down here you've already got food, drink, a friend in Papyrus and myself…is what you have to do…really worth it?"

"What do you mean?"

Sans looked away for a moment, completely silent. When he looked back, he had shut his eyesockets. He opened them a moment later.

"Ah, forget it. I'm rootin for ya kid." There was an uncomfortable silence that passed a few moments longer than both of them would have liked.

"Hey…" Sans continued. "Let me tell you a story. So I'm a sentry in Snowdin Forest, right? I sit out there, and watch for humans. It's kinda boring. Fortunately, deep in the forest, there's this HUGE locked door. It's perfect for practicing knock knock jokes. So one day, I'm hitting them out like usual. I knock on the door and say 'knock knock.' But suddenly, from the other side, I hear a woman's voice. She asked 'Who's there?' So, naturally, I respond. 'dishes.' 'dishes who?' 'dishes a very bad joke." Frisk chuckled. Despite the context of the joke, it was a pretty good one. Inside him though, Frisk wondered. Could it have been…

"Then she just howls with laughter like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years. So I keep 'em coming, and she keeps laughing. She's the best audience I've ever had. Then after a dozen of these, SHE throws a joke. It was a good one. We kept joking around for hours." Frisk felt his heart sinking lower. By now he knew exactly who Sans was talking about.

"Eventually, I had to leave. Papyrus can get cranky without his bedtime story. But, she told me to come by again, and so I did. I kept coming back, again, and again. It's a thing now. Telling bad jokes through the door. It rules." Once again, Sans looked away. Frisk found it difficult to meet his eyes when he turned back to him.

"One day though, I noticed she wasn't laughing very much. I asked her what was up. Then she said something strange. 'If a human ever comes through this door…could you please, please promise me something? Watch over them, and protect them. Will you?' Now, I hate making promises. And this woman, I didn't even know her name. But…someone who has a love for bad jokes, and who's got an amazing integrity…" Sans forced himself to look at the ground for a few seconds before looking back to Frisk.

"Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah…I think so…" Frisk sighed, praying that Sans didn't know what Frisk had done.

"…Do you know what would have happened if I hadn't made that promise to her?" Sans once more looked away. When he turned back, Frisk felt his blood run cold. The two tiny dots that acted as Sans's pupils were gone and he uttered a chilling sentence.

"You'd be dead where you stand." Sans blinked, and the dots returned.

"Hey, lighten up bucko. I'm just joking with you. Well, that's all…take care of yourself, kid." Sans then walked away. Frisk watched him with a shiver running down his spine. Sans told Frisk he was joking…but deep down both Frisk and Sand knew, that he had never been more serious in his life.


	18. The Core

Frisk walked through the lobby of MTT Resort, immediately making for a door in the back. After stepping through, he gasped. There was machinery, everywhere. This surely had to be the core. As he stepped in, he got yet another phone call from Alphys.

"Ready? This is it! The elevator takes you to the top of the core." Frisk walked up and pushed a button for the elevator, yet nothing happened,.

"Alphys, it isn't working.

"What? The elevator should be working…okay this is fine. Go down that door to your left. From there we'll get to the rest of the Core. Frisk walked through the door into the rooms behind. He was immediately hit with a long hallway full of lasers. He put the phone back to his ear.

"Don't worry, I'll disable the lasers." He could hear keys on a keyboard clattering in the background, then Alphys voice, sounding panicked. "Th-They're not turning off! O-Okay…this is fine. I'll turn off the p-power for the whole area. Then you can walk across." Moments later, all the lasers were off. Frisk started to cross. Suddenly when he was beside a swarm of the laser generators, he heard Alphys.

"W-WAIT!" Frisk paused, juts as a mass of blue lasers erupted from the generators. He remained perfectly still, remembering the rule.  
"Th-The power…it's turning itself back on. D-Damn it…t-this wasn't supposed…okay. I'm going to turn it off again. When it comes off, move a little, then stop. You keep doing that, and you won't get h-h-hurt." Frisk decided to take Alphys at her word. When the lasers went off, he broke into a sprint. Suddenly he saw lights on the generators and he skidded to a stop, just as the lasers reactivated. This pattern kept up for only a minute, until Frisk was on the other side.

"S-See? I've got EVERYTHING under control." Alphys insisted. Suddenly, the line went dead.

"Alphys? ALPHYS?!" Frisk shouted into the phone. When he heard nothing, he shoved it into his pocket and continued on. It took time, but finally he found a door that looked very different. He slowly entered into the darkened room. There, directly in front of him, was Mettaton.

"Oh yes. There you are darling. It's time to finally have our little showdown. It's time to finally stop the 'malfunctioning' robot…NOT! Malfunction?! Reprogramming?! Get real! This was all just a big show. An act. Alphys has been playing you for a fool the whole time. As she watched from the screen, she grew attached to your little adventure. She wanted to be a part of it. So, she decided to insert herself into you. She's been reactivating puzzles. Disabling elevators. She enlisted me to torment you! All so SHE could save you from dangers that didn't exist. So you would think she's the great person that she's NOT. Now, it's time for her finest hour. She'll be at this room any second now. During our battle, she will interrupt. She will pretend to 'deactivate me', 'saving' you one final time. She'll be the heroine of your adventure."

Frisk could feel his heart sinking. All this time…and he had been played for a chump. Worst of all, it had worked. Who knows? He could have already been home had Alphys not slowed him down.

"You see, I've had enough of this predictable charade. I have no desire to harm humans. Far from it actually. My only desire is to entertain. After all, the audience deserves a good show, don't they? And what's a good show… WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?!" Frisk heard the door slam shut and lock behind him, then Alphys's voice on the other side.

"H-Hey! Wh-Wh-What's going on!?"

"SORRY FOLKS! THE OLD PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELLED!" Mettaton announced as the room lit up.

"BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD! REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! REAL BLOODSHED! ON OUR NEW SHOW…ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!"

Frisk immediately pulled out the knife, staring down Mettaton.

"Listen, darling. I've seen you fight. You're weak. If you continue forward, Asgore will take your soul. With your soul, Asgore will DESTROY humanity. BUT…if I get your soul, I can SAVE humanity from destruction! Then, using your soul, I'll cross through the barrier…and become the star I've always dreamed of being! I'll FINALLY have it all! So what if a few people have to die? IT'S SHOW BUISNESS BABY!"

Frisk reached for the phone as he felt it vibrating. Alphys immediately started talking when he picked up.

"Listen, don't give up! T-There's one last way to defeat M-Mettaton. It's…um…it's…this is a work in progress so don't judge it too hard. You know how Mettaton always faces towards you? It's because of a switch on his backside. S-S-So if y-y-you c-c-can turn him around…um…"

Frisks's response was cold.

"Hit the switch on his back. Got it." He abruptly hung up on Alphys.

'Come on…THINK Frisk…'

"Uhh…Hey Mettaton! There's a mirror behind you! Want to see how fabulous you are?"

"Ooooh! I have to look good for our grand finale." Mettaton turned, and Frisk rushed forward, immediately flipping the switch on Mettaton's backside. Mettaton suddenly froze.

"D…Did you…just hit…my switch?" The robot began to shake and shudder. Frisk backed away as smoke engulfed the robot. Suddenly, it cleared. The original form of Mettaton wasn't there, but in his place, was still Mettaton, only he looked a bit more human. Mettaton EX.

Frisk pocketed his knife, knowing that it would do nothing against Mettaton's robotic form. It would be pointless to try. This was a show right? So maybe…Frisk put a foot forward and crossed his arms.

"Alright then you pile of scrap metal…think you can hit me?! Because I think you'll be a bit too slow!" Mettaton stared down at Frisk, a pleasant gleam in his eye.

"Oooh a challenge!" Immediately one of Mettaton's legs flashed out. If Frisk hadn't sidestepped when he did, he would have quite a nasty bruise on his face, or worse.

"You've had such a big heart today darling…so why don't I show you mine?" Frisk suddenly saw a mechanical heart of Mettaton he had revealed. Acting fast, Frisk grabbed his knife and charged forward, avoiding Mettaton's strikes as he went, managing to strike the metal heart. He immediately jumped back. Mettaton seemed unfazed.

"How are you on the dance floor?" Mettaton chuckled. Suddenly Frisk saw a disco ball above with many tiny laser generators inside. He jumped to the right, then the left as the lasers fired out, striking the ground. The lasers kept coming, faster and faster. Frisk had to jump, sometimes tuck and roll to avoid them. The last laser went flying past his ear. He did a spin on one foot and landed in a mocking pose. He could just barely see a ratings screen on the side, the bar growing close to a yellow line. Frisk suddenly noticed the heart was exposed.

He took another running start at the robots weak point, but then faked back as Mettaton sent the disco ball smashing to the ground. Frisk dealt another blow to the heart. Mettaton shuddered slightly, and his arms exploded off.

"A…Arms? Wh…Who needs arms with legs like THESE?! I'll still win!" Frisk was caught off guard for a kick from one of the legs. He ducked off to the side, but not fast enough, and the sharp end of his foot just nicked Frisk's arm.

"ENOUGH of this! Do you really want to perish? Or do you just believe in yourself that much?!"

"Well, I can be a stubborn person I guess." Frisk retorted in response. The heart was still in the open. If he could strike once more, then maybe…Mettaton sent a miniature bomb flying in Frisks's direction. He dove to the right, landing on his side as it exploded on the other side of the room. He scrambled to his feet to see Mettaton preparing to throw another.

"How inspiring! However, darling, it's me or you. I think we both know who's going to win." Mettaton threw the bomb. Frisk took a running start. The bomb was just barely bigger than his hands, and light enough that he could grab onto it. He started a spin as he grabbed the bomb, using its momentum to turn it around and throw it back. The bomb struck home, slamming straight into Mettaton's heart before exploding. When the dust cleared, Frisk could see Mettaton still active, but with no arms or legs this time. His chest was heaving.

"Ooh, look at these ratings!"

"W…What?!" Frisk asked, exhausted from having to dodge the attacks.

"We've reached the viewer call-in milestone! One lucky caller will get the chance to talk to me, Mettaton EX, before I leave the Underground forever." Immediately a call-in phone began ringing.

"Hi, you're on TV!" On the other end, was what sounded like a little kids' voice.

"Oh…hi…Mettaton…I really liked watching your show…my life is pretty boring…but…seeing you on the screen…brought my excitement to my life…vicariously. I can't tell, but…I guess this is the last episode…?" Mettaton's smug grin began to fade.

"I'll miss you Mettaton!" The caller hung up. Frisk stared at Mettaton. Or…what was left of him at least.

"I…I see…everyone…thank you. Darling…perhaps…it might be better if I stay here for a while. You humans already have stars and idols. But monsters…they only have me. The Underground would lose its spark if I left. I'd leave an aching void that can never be filled. Besides, you've proven yourself to be very strong." The cameras stopped. "Maybe even strong enough to get past Asgore. I'm sure you'll be able to protect humanity. It's for the best anyway…truth is, this body's energy consumption is…inefficient…hey. Knock 'em dead, darling." Frisk looked up and gave a small smile. "Will do."

Mechanical whirring sounded as Mettaton slowly shut down. Just then Alphys rushed in through a now unlocked door.

"I…I managed to open the lock! Are you two…" Alphys's voice trailed away as she ran over to Mettaton's powerless form. "Oh my god. Mettaton…are you…oh, thank god it's just the batteries. If you were gone, I would have…" Frisk leaned closer to Alphys, who stopped talking. "Why don't you go on ahead?" Frisk nodded, and brushed past Alphys into the corridor beyond. A couple moments later, Alphys caught up.

"S…Sorry about that! Let's keep going…" After waiting for Frisk to catch up, Alphys spoke again.

"S-So you're about to meet Asgore, h-huh?" Frisks's response was blunt.

"Yeah. Guess so." There was more walking in silence before Alphys spoke again.

"You'll finally get to go home!" They soon reached the elevator that would bring Frisk up to the Kings castle. As he opened the door, Alphys called.

"W-wait!" Frisk stopped and looked. Alphys looked…sad.

"I was just going to say goodbye and…oh I can't take this anymore." She turned around, but spoke over her shoulder.

"I…I lied to you…a human soul isn't strong enough to cross the barrier alone."

"What?" Frisk felt crestfallen. "Then how?"

"It takes at least a human soul…and a monster soul…if you want to go home…you'll have to take his soul. You'll need to kill Asgore. …I'm sorry." Alphys didn't wait for a response, simply walked away, back to tend to Mettaton. Frisk stepped into the elevator and nearly collapsed against the wall. Kill the king? But how? He wasn't strong enough…was he? The elevator dragged him further and further up, towards the barrier…and to Asgore.


	19. Judgement

The trip up the elevator seemed endless. Seconds seemed to stretch out from minutes, to hours…to days…suddenly, Frisk could hear a pounding in his head and he leaned against an elevator wall, closing his eyes as he groaned. When he opened them, he found himself outside a friendly looking house. Frisk recognized it instantly, and he felt sick. He slowly walked up to the door of Toriel's house and inside.

He looked around the familiar walls. He quickly noticed the chain with twin locks blocking stairs down to the basement. Moving to the kitchen, he began to hear voices. They were unfamiliar, and seemed to be coming from inside his head.

"A long time ago, a human fell into the ruins. Injuerd by its fall, the human called out for help." He shuddered slightly as he picked up the key, continuing to search. The voices returned.

"Asriel, the king's son, heard the human's call. He brought the human back to the castle. Over time, Asriel and the human became like siblings. The king and queen treated the human child as their own. The underground was full of hope." Frisk found the second key and unlocked the chain. He proceeded downstairs to the long hallway that once led to the rest of the Underground.

"Then…one day…the human became very ill. The sick human had only one request. To see the flowers from their village. But…there was nothing we could do." Frisk felt a lump building in his throat.

"The next day…the human died. Asriel, wracked with grief, absorbed the human's soul. He transformed into a being with incredible power. With the human soul, Asriel crossed through the barrier. He carried the human's body into the sunset. Back to the village of the humans. Asriel reached the center of the village. There, he found a bed of golden flowers. He carried the human onto it." Frisk stopped. His eyes were stinging, and the tears welling up made it impossible for him to see where he was going.

"Suddenly, screams rang out. The villagers saw Asriel holding the human's body. They thought that he had killed the child. The humans attacked with everything they had. He was struck with blow after blow. Asriel had the power to destroy them all. But…Asriel did not fight back. Clutching the human…Asriel smiled, and walked away. Wounded, Asriel stumbled home. He entered the castle and collapsed. His dust spread across the garden. The kingdom fell into despair. The king and queen had lost two children in one night. The humans had once again taken everything from us."

"The king decided it was time to end our suffering. Every human who falls down here must die. With enough souls, we can shatter the barrier. It's not long now. King Asgore will let us go. He will give us hope. He will save us all." Frisk struggled to control his shaking lip.

"You should be smiling, too. Aren't you excited? Aren't you happy? You're going to be free." The voices vanished, and Frisk found himself back in the elevator. He heard a cheerful chime as he reached the floor of the throne room. He stepped out into the hall and looked down to see Sans standing close to the end. Taking a deep breath to try to calm down, Frisk slowly approached. He could hear a bell tolling in the distance.

"So, you finally made it. The end of your journey is at hand. In a few moments, you will meet the king. Together…you will determine the future of this world. That's then. Now. You will be judged. You will be judged for every action. You will be judged for every EXP you've ever earned. What's EXP? It's an acronym. It stands for "execution points." A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on someone. When you kill someone, your EXP increases. IF you have enough, your LOVE increases. LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for "Level of Violence." A way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt."

Frisk felt one of his hands close into fists. Instantly he looked down from Sans to his feet and at his clenched hands. He had to kill to get to where he was. He was never proud of it, but he always thought he never had a choice. Yet here he was, being judged for it.

"The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others. Now that you understand, it's time to begin your judgement. Look inside yourself human. Have you really done the right thing? And, considering what you've done…what will you do now? Take a moment to think about this." The skeleton fell silent, and though Frisk couldn't see it, he too had closed his eyesockets.

"Truthfully, it doesn't matter what you said. All that's important, is that you were honest with yourself. With what happens now…we leave up to you." Frisk looked up. Sans was…gone? He stared around the hall. "Sans?!" There was no reply. His eyes fell on the door. He proceeded through the door.


	20. The King

Once through the door, he found himself inside the Throne Room. In the middle of the room by the throne itself, was another creature tending to some plants. The King had apparently heard his entry.

He turned around to face Frisk. "How can I…" The King cut himself short. "Oh." His eyes widened in shock at the sight of the human. Frisk met his eyes, though he couldn't have said it was without fear.

"…I so badly want to say 'would you like a cup of tea'…" The King chuckled, though Frisk could tell it was with a heavy heart.

"But…you know how it is." Asgore walked to one of the windows. "Nice day today, huh? Birds are singing, flowers are blooming…perfect weather for a game of catch." Frisk couldn't bare himself to say anything. There was something about the King's appearance that seemed eerily familiar.

"You know what we must do. When you are ready, come into the next room." Asgore departed through a back door. Frisk took the time to look around and spotted a second throne off to one side, covered in a white sheet. He went pale. He had only ever seen one other monster that looked so similar to Asgore. Was Toriel… "No. Don't think about it." Was Frisk's thought as he followed King Asgore. Soon, Frisk found himself and Asgore standing almost in front of the cave's exit. However, Frisk could easily see the barrier trapping the monsters underground.

"This is the barrier. This is what keeps us all trapped here. If…If by chance you have any unfinished business here…please…do what you must." Frisk slowly took out his knife. "No. I'm ready."

"…I see…Then this is it." The King turned around to face Frisk. "Human…it was nice to meet you. Goodbye." Suddenly, Asgore shoved his right arm out from beneath the robes to reveal hard armour beneath it, with a glowing red sword in his hand. Immediately the sword swung towards Frisk, who just barely thrust the knife up, managing to deflect it away. Immediately after this a fireball crashed into the ground, missing Frisk by mere inches. Frisk took this chance to dash towards Asgore. As Asgore swung his sword down, Frisk slid onto one knee, moving between Asgore's legs, managing to slash at his armour as he went. Frisk lept up and spun around to face his opponent. Asgore growled fiercly. Frisk could see that the slash had indeed damaged the armour. And if Asgore's protection could be damaged…he could be defeated. Frisk tried to think of something to say…anything that would stop the fight…but the look in Asgore's eyes spoke silently, that there would be no mercy.

With Asgore's next swing, Frisk managed to send his knife scoring down the king's arm and he saw fresh blood now on his blade. In a rage, Asgore lashed out, and the charge of fireballs was almost impossible to avoid. Eventually, one of the fireballs hit home, sending Frisk sprawling onto the ground. He could feel something burning inside him. A sense of…determination. He slowly stood up. The sword swung down again. Frisk raise the knife to block the blow. The momentum from the blow sent Frisk into a roll which he directed forward, once more cutting at the king's chestplates. The armour cracked slightly. Years of misuse and lack of maintenance meant that Asgore was more vulnerable than he realized. Frisk didn't see another attack coming from his other arm though, because a firey fist slammed into him. Frisk skidded across the room, laying still at one end.

Asgore walked over slowly, preparing to finish the job. Just before he could bring his sword down, Frisk tucked and rolled, jamming the knife deep into the crack. The King's eyes widened and he slowly went down to the floor. The sword clattered to the ground…then vanished. Frisk stood over the badly wounded king.

"Ah…so that is how it is…I remember…the day after my son died. The entire underground was devoid of hope. The future had once again been taken from us by the humans. In a fit of anger, I declared war. I said that I would destroy any human that came here. I would use their souls to become godlike…and free us from this terrible prison. I would destroy humanity, and let monsters rule the surface in peace…While the peoples hopes returned, my wife became disgusted with my actions. She left this place, and I haven't seen her since. Truthfully, I do not want power. Nor do I want to hurt anyway. I just wanted everyone to have hope."

"Asgore…" Frisk began, his hand, still clutching the knife, was shaking.

"But…I cannot take this any longer. I just want to see my wife. I just want to see my child. Please…young one…this war has gone on long enough. You have the power now. Take my soul, and leave this cursed place."

Frisk was about to refuse, and insist that he would help the king return. But then…the thoughts of Toriel came flooding back. The King had next to nothing anymore.

"Asgore…I…I'm…sorry…" Frisk, looking away, drove the knife deep into the king's heart. He could see the soul emenating in front of him as the king turned to dust. He threw the knife aside and nearly broke down sobbing as he grasped the soul in his hand.

"I…I hope you find your family…"

Looking back, Frisk once more looked at the exit of the throne room as he felt the power of Asgore's soul inside him. He then slowly stepped through the barrier…and onto the surface.

 _6 days later_

Frisk lay awake on the top of a hill, staring up into the stars. It had been nearly a week since he had escaped the Underground, yet he just couldn't get the monsters off of his mind. Did they really desesrve to be stuck there? Asgore said himself that he never truly wanted to hurt anybody…and the war? It was pointless. It shouldn't have ever happened. Frisk sighed and closed his eyes, mumbling to himself. "I wish I could go back and…and free them all…"

 _ **AUTHORS NOTE**_

 **Yes I'm aware I'm not putting in the final fight with Flowey. I'm doing this for a reason. For one thing, my first reaction when seeing that was 'What kind of weed was TobyFox smoking when he made this?' I'm aware Flowey takes the souls, but due to the nature of the battle and what goes on in it, I feel like it would just be too complex to explain it on paper, as this is where we really see the whole 'save file' thing at use. Trust me, this WILL come up in the Pacifist and Genocide runs. IT WILL COME UP! I just left it out of this way to give it a softer ending. I hope you all can accept this.**


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